Olson gets in a little throwing

January 06, 1994|By Jim Henneman

It was a lonely day at Camden Yards yesterday. Orioles pitching coach Dick Bosman was there, but he didn't have much company.

Bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks, who comes with the territory and is always on hand for the informal off-season workouts, was there. So was minor-league pitching coach John O'Donoghue Sr., and left-handed reliever Brad Pennington, the only player on the Orioles' major-league roster in attendance.

But, the most notable attendee was Gregg Olson, the free-agent reliever on the comeback trail after an elbow injury that sidelined him the last two months of the 1993 season.

Contrary to an earlier report, Olson is not headed to California for a meeting with the Angels. That will be left to his agent, Jeff Moorad, who has confirmed a meeting is scheduled this week.

"They [the Angels and Moorad] are just chatting," said Olson, who went through an independent physical examination by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., on Monday.

Olson, who pitched only eight innings after the All-Star break in 1993 before going on the disabled list, said he was on "an advanced strengthening program" prescribed by Andrews, but he probably wouldn't do any strenuous throwing before spring training.

He played catch with assistant trainer Jamie Reed in the clubhouse yesterday, but it was primarily an exercise.

Moorad said Tuesday that he expected Olson to be throwing "within 10 days," but the pitcher indicated yesterday he wouldn't extend himself at least until shortly before spring training.

"To me, this is throwing," said Olson, who had 29 saves and a 1.60 ERA in 1993.